Testosterone times for sport

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which is the highest legal body in sport, recently made a judgment that throws women’s athletics into chaos. To boil it down, women can compete in any men’s event (referred to as “open events” out of political correctness). This includes women who have “transitioned” and become men.

But transgender men are allowed to compete in women’s events (notably in races between 400 metres and 1600 metres) only if their levels of testosterone are below a prescribed limit. What’s more, women can compete in these events only if their testosterone levels are also below those limits.

The CAS ruling is based on an interpretation of complex and controversial science, and it is an apparent reaction to growing social trends of gender fluidity. It follows upon a two-year-old appeal by the brilliant South African runner, Caster Semenya, who was appealing against a ban from competing in her favourite events. 

It used to be an article of faith for the International Olympic Association (IOA) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) to gender-segregate events, with few exceptions such as shooting and equestrian events. This segregation was so rigid that chess, snooker and bridge have had trouble winning IOA affiliation! Until the 1970s, women athletes literally had to undergo a nude physical exam before competition. That later changed to hormonal and chromosomal tests. The IOA allowed transgenders to compete after 2016.

Sex and gender are complicated issues, biologically and sociologically. Sex is typically determined by the possession of male or female reproductive organs. But some babies are born with both. It is further determined by the possession of two XX chromosome in females, or paired XY chromosomes in males. However, there are individuals with female reproductive organs, who possess Y chromosomes.

Gender is determined by even more complex psychological and sociological factors. An individual who is biologically one sex may think of themselves as belonging to the other gender. As medical science has advanced, and social attitudes liberalised, there has been more “transitioning” with people going through the complicated, long-drawn process of changing sex medically via hormone treatment and surgery, to align with their mental gender.

Another determining factor for sex is supposed to be testosterone levels. This hormone is produced naturally by both sexes, but in a much larger volume by males. High levels are linked to more muscle mass, higher libido, more aggressive attitudes, deeper voices, more body hair, and so on.

Semenya (and India’s Dutee Chand) and many other high-performing women athletes have naturally high levels of testosterone. Many women athletes may possess a Y chromosome, which is linked to high testosterone production. Testosterone production can also be stimulated by doping, or exercise and dietary changes.

Men who transition and become women also have higher levels of testosterone, more muscle mass, etc. This can be a major advantage in a whole range of athletics. By forcing them to cut testosterone levels to 5 nanolitres per litre of blood (lower than typical male levels of 8-30 nl, but higher than typical female levels of 1.8 nl), the IAAF is supposedly trying to level the track. But this punishes Semenya, Chand, and other non-trans women with naturally high levels of the hormone.

“Temporary transitioning” first happened decades ago, when East German women athletes (and some Bulgarians and Russians) were pumped with artificial testosterone and other stimulants. It became rarer after artificial testosterone was banned.

When Semenya started blitzing world records and was banned, she appealed. The CAS asked the IAAF, IOC et al to “prove” natural testosterone was a performance-enhancer. A recent study was cited by the IAAF to demonstrate that higher levels gave a 1.8 per cent performance advantage. This is huge, except that the study itself is still disputed. 

This is a patchwork and unsatisfactory solution. As more “transitioning” occurs, other disciplines will also be affected. Given the rewards for sports performance, and the cachet that sporting success brings to nations, it would be naïve to imagine that people will not seek workarounds. We might just be entering a new era of “gender-doping”.

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Twitter: @devangshudatta